Reunion
by Ranguvar27
Summary: Years after being forced to leave his family behind, Linksano is reunited with them in the most unexpected way.
1. A Door Opens

Earth-82.

The woman watched as her husband fiddled with the small device in his hands, muttering under his breath. "Come on...I had it...come...EUREKA! I FOUND IT!" The device, which resembled a remote control covered in tiny Christmas lights, was emitting a high beeping noise. "I found it! Nora darling, I found it!"

Nora Schlumper beamed. "You mean...?"

Wayne punched the air in glee. "Yes! I found the frequency that will allow for the door between this Earth and the one Oscar was forced to flee to to open for a short window of time! It should be just enough for the three of us to make it through!" He turned to his wife, blue eyes bright with joy. "I can finally see my brother! Tesla, do you know how long it's been? I can only imagine what he's been up to all these years."

Nora gave him a tight hug, which he returned. "You sure you want us to go with you?"

Wayne gaped at her. "Of course I want you to go with me! What kind of brother would I be if I didn't introduce Oscar to his new family? Speaking of, you better go wake him up. I'll get the door open." Nora nodded and went down the hall.

She walked into a bedroom decorated in sailing ships, silently making her way over to the crib and the lively baby that lay inside. He was gumming on his favorite toy, a stuffed polar bear, and he beamed at his momma. "Hello little guy. Daddy's going to take us on a trip, wanna go?"

"Go!"

Nora bent down and picked him up, carried him out to the living room, and did double take. There was a hole in her wall shaped just like a door. "Wayne...is..is that safe?"

"Course it's safe! I wouldn't put you or Nick in danger! But just to be sure, I'll go first." Wayne took a deep breath and stepped through. After a few moments, Nora followed, Nick wailing in protest and fear.

Nora felt as if she was being stretched, and she could hear a strange whooshing sound. She shut her eyes, her voice stolen from her. Her arms locked around Nick.

EARTH

Wayne opened his eyes. His head was pounding, he was seeing double, and he felt like he had gone three rounds with the bullies at his old high school. He could see Nora and his son nearby, both looking rather green around the gills. Quickly, he pulled out his device, blinking until the numbers came into focus. "WE MADE IT!"

Nora made her way over. "Great. Where are we?"

"A place called Minnesota. Now we just have to find my brother, and I have no clue where to start."

Nora scrunched her nose in thought. "Hmm...are you sure he's here?"

"Oh yes, I programmed this to take us within an hour's journey of his location. Though an hour in which direction I couldn't say." He looked around, taking stock of his surroundings. "We're in a park or nature preserve of some kind. I propose we walk in a northerly direction."

"Bird!" Nick pointed at a sparrow that had landed on a branch above them. Nora laughed, then spoke to Wayne.

"Why north?"

"Why not? It's as good a direction as any." Nora couldn't argue with that, so they set off down the path.

"Looks like someone is having a picnic." Wayne could see a large group under one of the pavilions and smell burgers and hotdogs cooking. His stomach rumbled, and Nora elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey! I can't help it, I'm hungry."

He continued down the path and nearly collided with a small child. "Oh, do excuse me!"

The child-a girl of about ten with flame red hair and very familiar blue eyes-gaped at him. She blinked, looked back at the picnic area, then back to him, her gaze piercing, and he felt a slight shiver run up his spine. "Umm...is everything okay?"

"You look exactly like my Uncle! My name's Charlene, what's yours?"

Wayne held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Charlene. My name is Wayne Schlumper, and this is my wife Nora and our son, Nicholas. Miss Charlene, are you okay?"

Charlene's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "Uhhh...yeah...I'm great! Hey, listen, why don't you come and join our picnic! We're celebrating my sister's birthday and the park is the best place for it because she can use her powers and not hurt anyone."

"It sounds tempting, but I'm afraid we must pass it up. You see, I came from a long way away looking for someone, and I can't waste any time."

Charlene frowned, then brightened up. "Just come on over. It'll be fun."

Nora looked over at him, shifting Nicky higher on her hip. "It couldn't hurt." Nicky wriggled. "And I need to sit for a moment anyway. Lead the way, Charlene."

Charlene trotted off towards the pavilion, the others following. When they arrived, Charlene cupped her hands to her mouth. "UNCLE INSANO! COME HERE!"

"There is no need to shout, Charlene!"

Wayne and Nora gawped in surprise as a man who looked exactly like him save for a pair of spiral goggles covering his eyes came over, a small pink object tucked in his arm. "What is...oh." He blinked at Wayne, then laughed. "Ahh, parallel Earth, no doubt. I always knew there was more of me out there. Well...this will come as a pleasant shock to your father, Charlene."

Charlene was practically bouncing in glee. "I know! Where is he?" Insano pointed over his shoulder, and Charlene giggled.

Wayne looked in the direction his parallel doppelganger was pointing and felt the world spin. He made his way through the crowd, ignoring the stares, double takes, and whispers of shock until he came to the last picnic table and its two occupants, a rather lovely woman with the same hair as Charlene and a man that he would know anywhere. They were currently engaged in an intimate conversation, and Wayne gulped. "Umm...ex...excuse me..."

The woman looked around first, and Wayne realized that she wasn't looking at him in shock. Rather, she was grinning. "Well, talk about serendipity. Guess Fate finally decided to favor you. Oscar, there's someone here you might know."

Wayne felt time stop as the man turned around. He had spent hours rehearsing what he was going to say when he saw him again. He would tell him he understood, that he had never stopped trying to find a way to be with him, and that he was proud to be his brother. But now, all the grand speeches were driven out of his head at the look of incredulous joy mingled with shock on the face of the man he hadn't seen in years.

"Hello, big brother."


	2. It's A Long Story

Linksano couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked, then rubbed them hard, staring at the man in front of him as if he was looking at a ghost. Awestruck, he reached out a hand, and Wayne grabbed it. His hand was solid and slightly warm. After what seemed like an eternity, Linksano found his voice. "W...Wayne?"

His little brother nodded, face working as he struggled to keep from crying. "Yeah, big brother, it's me. I...umm.." Further words were cut short when Linksano jumped up from the bench and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Wayne returned the hug, burying his face in his brother's shoulder.

Linksano prided himself on being a man that had some control over his emotions. A scientist to the core, he could not afford to get angry or upset if an experiment went wrong. Oh, he had his moments, and everyone knew that the surest way to get him truly enraged was to threaten Jade and their daughters, but he had become an expert at hiding his emotions. He was an intelligent, calm, somewhat collected individual.

Who was currently bawling like a baby in his brother's arms.

He wasn't the only one, though. Linksano could feel his brother's own tears soaking his shirt. He clung to him even tighter, afraid that if he let go Wayne would turn into smoke and disappear. Neither of them noticed the small crowd that had gathered around them until Linkara cleared his throat. The brothers broke apart, eyes slightly puffy.

Linksano kissed Wayne on the forehead. "Tesla, I...Wayne...You're really here, aren't you?"

Wayne wiped his eyes on his sleeve and nodded. "I'm not the only one. Someone else missed you too."

"Who...?" Linksano's eyes widened in delight at the blonde woman that stood next to Harvey. She was beaming at him, and in her arms was a small boy-child. "Spoonette!"

"I haven't been called that in so long," Spoonette said, laughing. "Damn, Oscar, it's good to see you." She came forward, pulling him into a one armed hug, and Linksano returned it. "I missed you, you big lug."

"I missed you too. But why are you here with Wayne? And who's this handsome fellow?"

Wayne and Spoonette shared a secret grin, and Spoonette held up her left hand. Linksano peered at it, and his eyes nearly popped from his skull. "Are you two married?!"

Wayne pulled Spoonette against his body, grinning. "Yep. Nora and I have been married for...four years now?"

"Five, darling. Well, at least it will be five next month."

"So that's still four."

Spoonette rolled her eyes in affectionate exasperation. "Scientists. Well, Oscar, aren't you going to say anything?"

Linksano laughed. "This is wonderful! Oh, you must tell me how you came to fall in love!"

Wayne smiled. "It was after you left, actually. I had been missing you, and feeling really down. I was outside staring at the stars, trying to determine where you might be, and Nora came over. At first I thought she was going to start ragging on me, but she sat next to me and kept me company. A week later I brought her a rose and asked her out. She said yes, and well, we just clicked."

Jade sighed. "That's so romantic. Oh, I should introduce myself. I'm Jade, Oscar's wife. I'm an alien."

Wayne shook her hand. "You mean you're from another country?"

"No, I mean I'm an alien. As in not human. I met Oscar while fleeing for my life from my insane father. He had been gutshot and left to die in a sewer."

Linksano smiled bitterly at the look of horror on Wayne's face. "I have not led an easy life, Wayne. To tell you everything would take far too long, and I wish to be introduced to the young lad in Spoonette's arms."

Spoonette grinned. "This is Nicholas, but we call him Nick. Nick, say hello to your Uncle Oscar." Nick buried his face in Spoonette's shoulder. "Don't mind him, he's shy."

Jade smiled in understanding. "How old?"

"He just turned a year. Wayne wanted to wait for kids, and we were using protection, but one night I forgot." Spoonette smiled at Jade. "Do you have kids?"

"I've got two daughters, one biological and one adopted. Charlene's over on the slide, and Sophie's over in the sandbox."

"How old?"

"Charlene's ten and Sophie's nine. She's the one I adopted. Which is a long story as well."

Wayne laughed. "Sounds like you both have long stories to tell."

Linksano and Jade nodded in agreement. "That we do, little brother. So if you want to hear them, you had best sit down."


	3. A New Home, A New World

Wayne was staring at his brother in blank astonishment. Linksano had just filled him in on the circumstances surrounding his meeting and reunion with Jade, the role he played in defeating Lord Vyce, and everything that he had been through since coming to this world. Jade passed over a plastic cup filled with soda and Wayne drained it in one long swallow. "Well...I must say, you've certainly led an interesting and unusual sort of life since we last saw each other."

Linksano sighed bitterly. "Yes, that is one way to put it. About the only event I'm grateful for is meeting my wife. Everything else I was willing to give up in a second if it meant I would be able to find my way back home."

Wayne fidgeted. "Yes...umm...about that...we...came to stay."

"What?" Linksano looked torn between joy and shock. "Why, in Tesla's name? I mean, I'm beyond thrilled, but your home is..."

"Gone." Spoonette interjected quietly. She had been watching Nick and Charlene running around on the playground, a small, sad smile on her face. "It's not the world you left, Oscar. It never fully recovered from Vyce's...benevolent rule." Her voice was bitter, and Wayne took up the story.

"After Vyce left in pursuit of the Entity, several warring factions sprang up in his absence. They turned the world into a wasteland. Scientists were constantly developing new weapons. Oscar, do you remember the cabin where we would spend our summers?" Linksano nodded. "I retreated there with Nora and began to work on a way to find a path to this universe. It took me the better part of six years, and I was always afraid that I'd be found and forced to create some awesome weapon of destruction."

"So, after much trial and error, I found out the way. A one time, one way trip to this parallel Earth. Nora and I didn't have any reason to stay, and the thought of bringing Nick up in a War Zone was hardly appealing, so we jumped."

Linksano rubbed his mouth. "And...Mom and Dad?"

Wayne took a long, deep breath. "About six months after Nick was born, they were... "eliminated due to extreme sedition and slander against the government."

Jade looked horrified. "Meaning that they were killed because they spoke their minds." Wayne nodded. Linksano was pale.

"But...Mom was a teacher and Dad sold hardware. What threat could they possibly pose?"

"And all Jaeris did was review music," Jade said softly. "Despots like that...they don't care what you do in your life. You say one thing that doesn't fall in with the party line, and you're a danger that needs to be eliminated."

Spoonette took up the thread. "So after that, it didn't take much for Wayne to convince me. All my friends...they were either enamored by the blind promises the Government made or they had fled the country in fear. I would have asked Wayne to run as well, but I had Nick, and Wayne's name was on the Most Wanted List. He would have been found and dragged back in chains."

"Don't exaggerate, darling. I would not be in chains. Just cuffs. But I would be dragged, and all because I wouldn't put my brilliant mind to work finding new ways to kill."

"So we're here for good, big brother. Nick will have a chance at a childhood, and we can live without worrying about our door getting kicked down in the middle of the night."


End file.
